Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust, the county’s largest locally based environmental charity, has today issued a plea to prospective owners of the former Ratcher Hill sand quarry on the edge of Sherwood Forest to ensure that vital wildlife habitats on site are protected.

The site will be offered for sale at auction on Thursday 8^th December and the Wildlife Trust is hopeful that prospective owners will see the potential for protecting and restoring these vital areas of habitat.

The site is subject to a 20-year aftercare scheme resulting from its use as a quarry. The Trust believes it is vital that whoever purchases the site is fully aware of the legal aftercare obligations and the huge potential for further habitat restoration on site.

With only fragments of Sherwood Forest’s ancient heathlands remaining, the charity believes that it is vital that areas restored after commercial activity such as quarrying should be maintained in perpetuity, not just the period prescribed in planning obligations.

Speaking about the sale, the Trust’s Head of Nature Recovery (North) Janice Bradley said: “Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust’s efforts to ensure that the site is properly restored, in the heart of one of the most important remaining areas of the Sherwood Forest Landscape, stretch back over twenty years. We were commissioned to create a restoration plan in 2002, and have continued to work through the Minerals Planning process and the development of the Local Plan to ensure that restored areas are cared for and protected for future generations.”

Janice explained: “As we all face up to the climate and ecological crises we have to put nature on the path to recovery and sites such as the former Ratcher Hill Quarry are vital to future success. Restored areas connected to remaining fragments of habitat have a huge potential and they must continue to be protected and enhanced. We very much hope the new owners of the site appreciate its unique potential and we would be delighted to continue to provide advice as the site’s wildlife value develops”.

The Trust fought to ensure that part of the site was not allocated for development in the Local Plan, which was agreed by the Planning Inspector at the Local Plan Examination. The charity is also committed to ensuring that the site’s wildlife value is not undermined in future and is open to continuing to provide ecological advice to future owners.

Janice added: “Having pushed for habitat restoration on the site over the past twenty years as part of our wider efforts to restore key parts of the Sherwood Forest landscape and having previously fought the allocation of parts of the site for development, we will not stand by and watch its value decline. We will continue to keep a careful eye on the site to ensure that the owners comply with their Minerals Planning obligations and we will be working with Nottinghamshire County Council, in their role as the Minerals Planning Authority, to do so.